Monday, July 28, 2008

The Seeds of Success

"I found myself $7 million in debt, without realizing that it really was a colossally stupid deal," McCann says.

"But the good news was that Chris [his younger brother] had joined the company, and we paid down the debt over the next five years, and while it was a stupid deal, it was also the best thing we ever could have done."

It goes to show that taking a risk is a part of growing a business, but it needs to be a calculated one.

"You can be creative in your business without having a creative bone in your body," McCann says. He offers an example how years ago, he created a program called Fresh Rewards, where if you bought nine bouquets, that 10th one was free.

"People get a kick out of getting a free bouquet, and I remember people said that'll never work; nobody's going to use the card," McCann says.




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